How to Plant a Tree, Daniel Butler, 2010

A lovely gift from my friend Jeff Shields who died in August, 2014 and who shared a love of trees with me.  Jeff had planted many trees on his farm in Guilford, VT and was especially skillful at espaliering fruit trees with multiple apple varieties on a single trunk.   He gave me this book in January, 2014 knowing of my love of planting trees in Brownsville.  The book is a charming combination of information and folklore, specific tips on specific trees (30 of them from the common (willow, oak, spruce, yew, birch) to the rare (Wollemi Pine) and exotic (rubber tree, baobob, eucalyptus, coconut palm).  Each tree is included in 12 chapters , each centered  on a ceremony that could be commemorated with a tree planting—engagement, marriage, birth, death, coming of age, a new home, fertility, health, new beginnings, prosperity, anniversary, and retirement.  A lovely book full of information and practical tips as well as the cycle of life suggestions.  Lovely line drawings accompany the work, beautiful renderings of the trees in black and white.  Thank you, Jeff.